Minutes after Midnight
by YoungRL
Summary: **WARNING:** I realize that most everyone has already seen Season One, but for those of you who have yet to become victims of other obsessive people and haven't seen the finale, you may not want to read this. Summary inside. Please R/R!!


Minutes after Midnight  
  
(A '24' fanfic) (Credit Alicia Mckenzie for the title. Thanks again, Alicia ;)  
  
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Disclaimer: I do not own 24 or any of the characters. FOX does. I do, however, own this fic and the idea of what happens in it.  
  
Spoilers: As another warning, there are spoilers from the finale (11:00- 12:00PM, of course) in my fic, so if you haven't seen it, I advise you not to read it.  
  
And lastly, a note from me, the author (A basic summary): This fic is based on what I pictured happening about 5 to 10 minutes after the episode ended.  
  
Please read and review, and if you have any constructive criticism, please share, but don't flame. =]  
  
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"Hey," Mason glanced up quickly as he scribbled something hastily onto a piece of paper lying on his desk. "Anybody seen Jack?"  
  
"No," Tony, who was nearby, shook his head. "Last I saw he was going in with you. I got inside a couple of minutes later and I didn't see him around."  
  
Just then two men, who were security guards, came through a door, wheeling a gurney in between them. A man lying on it had an oxygen mask over his face. A paramedic walking beside the gurney as it was wheeled along was treating the man for a bullet wound in his chest.  
  
"Either of you two seen Bauer?" Mason called to them as they hurried along.  
  
"Uh. yeah," One of them flung over his shoulder as he jogged alongside the gurney. He pointed to where they'd just come from. "He went down there and when he saw us trying to help Jenson, here, he panicked and ran off down the hall. Sounded like he was looking for someone. He asked us if we'd searched the floor."  
  
"Thanks." Mason shouted after them and waved a hand in acknowledgement though the other man didn't see him.  
  
"Hey, George?"  
  
"Yeah?" Mason turned to look at the blonde-haired woman named Dana who had called to him.  
  
"I think Jack was going to look for his wife. He saw she wasn't with Kim and went to go look for her."  
  
"So why isn't he back yet?" Tony frowned, coming to stand beside Mason as they looked around at every, who were talking and packing it up to go home if they were some of those called in the previous day. "You'd think they'd want to see Kim."  
  
"Yeah. I don't know, something might be wrong. Let's go try and find him." Mason shook his head, marveling at the situation. "You'd think he'd be done trying to evade us by now."  
  
They went off where the security guards had pointed and down the hallway. A door was partly ajar to the left. Tony leaned into the room but the only thing that met his ears was the low hum of electricity.  
  
"Uh-uh." He shook his head at the expectant Mason as he closed the door.  
  
"He's probably down there somewhere." Mason said as he started off down the hall again and through the two double doors at the end of it.  
  
"Yeah, he's probably down there." Tony remarked as he saw another door partially open at the end of the corridor.  
  
They walked quickly down the hallway and into the room.  
  
"Jack?" Mason called, looking around. He stopped suddenly as he rounded a corner. Tony almost ran into him but he stopped in time.  
  
He looked over Mason's shoulder to see what it was that had made Mason jerk to a halt, and his mouth opened in shock.  
  
Tony then ran quickly from the room yelling about needing medical attention.  
  
Sitting against the wall was a defeated-looking Jack, weeping shamelessly and cradling his wife in his arms.  
  
The front of Teri's white shirt was stained dark with her crimson blood and her head lolled against Jack's knee, her eyes closed.  
  
"Jack, come on, we need to get her out of here." Mason walked over to Jack and knelt to help him lift Teri.  
  
Jack didn't respond and he didn't let Teri go.  
  
"Jack!" Mason said sharply. "The sooner we get her out of here the better we're able to help her, and she needs help badly!"  
  
"No. No, George, can't you see-she's dead." He choked in disbelief at his own words. "And it's my fault. It's all my fault." He trailed off in a whisper.  
  
Mason looked closely and saw that it was true, what Jack had said about the lifeless, bloodied form of Teri Bauer.  
  
"Jack. Jack, it's not your fault. This was out of your control."  
  
"No, no. if I had gotten here a minute sooner." Jack closed his eyes tightly as more tears found their way down his cheeks. "But my job just had to come first, didn't it? If I hadn't delayed with Nina, she might've had a chance. It's all my fault."  
  
He drew a long, shuddering breath and opened his eyes again. Gently he kissed Teri's forehead and stroked her hair.  
  
Seeing there was nothing he could do to help Jack deal with the blame he put on himself, Mason stood up again and went to wait for Tony by the door.  
  
"I'm so sorry." Jack whispered as he wiped away one of his own tears that had fallen onto Teri's cheek. "I love you." He broke down again into sobs that he tried without success to suppress.  
  
At that moment Tony rushed back into the room, two men following with another gurney between them.  
  
George grabbed Tony's shoulder and held him back, standing in front of him as he ran to help Jack. "Whoa, Almeida, hold up. There's nothing we can do."  
  
"What do you mean? We can still help her." Tony tried to shrug off Mason's hand and moved to go over to Jack.  
  
"No, Tony. She was gone before we even got here."  
  
"Oh, my God." Tony relaxed and Mason let go of him. He put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, letting out a long breath. After a moment he dropped his hand and looked at Mason. "Nina?" He asked.  
  
"I'm assuming so. But listen, we've got to get Teri out of here. Jack needs to go back to Kim. She's probably wondering where her mother is.  
  
"Guys?" Mason beckoned with one hand to the paramedics, who moved slowly over to Jack.  
  
"Jack, come on, we have to get Teri out of here and you need to go back to Kim."  
  
Jack didn't look up at Mason but he drew back a little at the paramedics who reached out to take Teri from him.  
  
"No," he sobbed, but he let them take her and lift her onto the gurney. He looked away, putting one hand over his eyes as more sobs wracked his body.  
  
"Let's go, Jack." Mason said as Tony signaled the paramedics not to leave yet. Tony turned back and looked worriedly at Jack, who looked utterly devastated and very frail at the moment.  
  
After a few minutes, Jack trying to compose himself, he rose slowly, his back at the wall for support. With Tony and Mason walking on either side of him, he left the room, the three of them following the gurney carrying Teri's body. It was now covered neatly with a white sheet, and it shocked Jack to see this and further realize what had happened.  
  
For Jack, the walk back to the main floor of CTU seemed to take an eternity. He was walking slowly, but for him it felt even slower, as though he was walking in slow motion.  
  
When he reached the main floor, Kim saw first the gurney and then her father walking behind in, crying and looking as though he had aged twenty years.  
  
"Dad!" She screamed. Jumping out of her chair she pushed past the guards stationed outside the room.  
  
"Kim," Jack croaked as she ran into his arms. Mason and Tony looked at each other over Jack's head. Not knowing what to do, they left the two to be together.  
  
Father and daughter stood for a long time, crying and hugging each other tightly.  
  
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As she sat in her holding room, Nina's cold eyes stared out at the two people standing out in the middle of the room. She watched, no emotion on her face, until the door closed, blocking her view and leaving her in silence.  
  
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Well, if you liked it, that's great. But if you didn't, then that's okay, too. (Mike Novick said something to that extent, if you didn't get it.) But anyway, *please* review and tell me what you thought of it. =] 


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